President Rodrigo Duterte urges Congress to adopt the second edition of the Bayanihan Law. It aims to facilitate the recovery of the country from the coronavirus pandemic.
Duterte thanked lawmakers from both chambers in his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday for the immediate passage of Bayanihan 1 or the “Bayanihan to Heal As One Act”. In addition, it gave him special powers to realign the national budget in response to the pandemic.
The President is now asking Congress to give the same care. And also, the priority to Bayanihan 2 or “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act” as the first statute.
“This health emergency has strained the resources of the government to their limits,” Duterte said. “I hope they will [give] the same care of clarification, intent, and pace to help the passage of the ‘Bayanihan to Recover as One’ Act, which is a complement to the Covid-19 pandemic recovery and response funds.”
As part of the government’s recovery strategy in the aftermath of the pandemic, Bayanihan 2 will earmark P140 billion for various socioeconomic and health programs.
The Senate Has Already Assured
Recently, the Senate has already assured that it will approve Bayanihan 2 after Duterte’s SONA on third and final read.
Moreover, Duterte also asked lawmakers to fast-track the passage of economic measures. For instance, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act and the Financial Institution Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act to help provide aid to the economy.
CREATE Act, or in other words, Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (CITIRA), reduce the corporate income tax rate from the current 30 percent to 25 percent.
Meanwhile, FIST allows banks and other financial institutions to transfer bad loans to asset management companies.
Gordon added he hopes the Bayanihan 2 Bill will be clearer in implementing the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, the equal distribution of test kits and priority for those who needed to be tested of the virus.
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